Easter Island Gods
by The Sainted Physician
Summary: On a sparsely populated island, a goddess is amassing her power, while mysterious figures haunt the jungle, like ghosts nobody remembers. Featuring Eleven, River, post-Children of Earth Jack, and post-Time War Fitz.
1. Chapter 1: A Bit of Company

Easter Island Gods

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><p>On a sparsely populated island, a goddess is amassing her power, while mysterious figures haunt the jungle, like ghosts nobody remembers. Featuring Eleven, River, post-Children of Earth Jack, and post-Time War Fitz.<p>

After spending so much time writing for young Classic Captain Jack and Eighth Doctor companion Fitz Kreiner during my previous fic This Tangled TARDIS, I began to think of other ways to pair these two lovely guys together. Meanwhile, Series 6 began, and made me fall even more in love with River Song and Eleven. And when River mentioned her and the Doctor's trip to Easter Island, my imagination went into overdrive!

I suppose there are spoilers for all Doctor Who and Torchwood, up to Series 6. However, it's not necessary to read any of my previous fics. Oh, and I don't own Doctor Who, though often I wish I did…

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><p>Chapter 1: A Bit of Company<p>

Jack slumped to the bar, shattered. After spending 6 months as far from human civilization as possible, he'd finally dragged himself back to London. Back to where it all happened. Forced himself, because of the dream. Over and over again, countless nights in a row, the same goddamn dream tormented him. Ianto, standing in front of where it happened. In front of Thames House. Where he died.

Desperately beckoning.

So Jack had come back, and broken into Thames House. And he waited. Nothing had happened, of course. Just a dream after all.

Maybe tomorrow he would find Gwen, get his vortex manipulator back. Leave this planet once and for all. This planet that had become a graveyard.

"What can I get you, mate?"

Jack looked up at the grinning bartender. He had a shifty look about him, but in a charming way. There was a sort of weary cheerfulness in the way e carried himself, in the smile lines permenantly etched in a face that did not quite match the melancholic grey eyes.

"You have pretty eyes," Jack said automatically, not even realizing he was flirting as his thoughts drifted back into terrible places.

The bartender blushed, which made Jack smile for the first time in a very long while.

"Uh, yeah," he muttered. "Thanks."

"Vodka. Straight. Leave the bottle."

The other man's grin slipped. "Who'd you lose?" he asked, sounding concerned.

Jack leaned back and took him in. Scruffy hair, stubble, and a worn leather jacket, with a red t-shirt and black jeans. Tall and gangly, almost too skinny, nearly as thin as his beautiful Tenth Doctor.

"I've lost everyone," Jack said softly, without even meaning too. "You wouldn't understand."

The bartender chuckled mirthlessly. "Try me, mate. You wouldn't believe the shit I've lived through."

"I'm so tired of this planet," Jack muttered.

With a shrug, the bartender turned around to grab a glass. "Trust me, there are worse places than planet Earth. I've been to most of them."

Jack actually laughed. "Have you? I bet I've been to more."

He poured Jack his drink. "I couldn't tell you. I lost track."

Jack tilted his head and frowned. "You're not joking, are you? You've actually been out there?"

The bartender leaned over conspiratorially, then slid a business card across the bar. "Yeah, mate. Been practically everywhere, and everywhen. I'm Fitz Kreiner from beyond the stars, private eye, intergalactic man of mystery, and citizen of the universe."

"Then why the hell are you working at a dive bar in North London?"

"Hey! I was born and raised in North London."

"I thought you came from beyond the stars?" Jack asked with a wry grin, downing his vodka at the end of the question before examining the card.

It read:

**_Fitz Kreiner_**_  
>Private Eye<em>

That was it. Jack laughed despite himself and slipped it in his pocket.

Fitz poured Jack another one, then poured one for himself. "Just working here a couple nights a week. The owner let's me play a few sets, I get to drink for free, and between you and me, this bar attracts a strange crowd. Just the sort in need of my specialized skills, if you get my meaning. I can tell you're interested..."

"You can't help me," Jack said sadly. "Nobody could. Not even the Doctor."

Fitz chocked on his Vodka, sputtering it all over himself. "The Doctor? You know The Doctor?"

Jack froze. Damnit. Every time he mentioned the Doctor is seemed chaos followed in his wake. But even after all this time the Time Lord drifted through his thoughts constantly.

"How do you know the Doctor?" Fitz demanded, reaching over and grabbing the lapels of his coat. The coat Ianto had given him. He pushed Fitz away roughly and straightened his collar.

"Who are you? And how do you know him?" Jack hissed.

Much later that night, after losing track of time and closing up the small bar, Fitz and Jack stayed up alone. Talking.

They had a lot to talk about.

xxx

Fitz kept drinking, until he was right and proper drunk. He lost track of time, lost track of which stories he was supposed to have told already, which ones he'd promised himself never to share with anyone, and what the hell was supposed to have happened to all the messed up timelines after the Doctor pulled Gallifrey from existence, brought it back again, then destroyed it in the Time War.

He tried desperately not to think about the last time he'd seen his Doctor.

The Doctor had been full of anger and regret. He'd come to say goodbye. Yeah, those weren't the words he said, that wasn't how he put it, bit Fitz had known that last time. Had sensed the finality in that last kiss, in the tears that never quite escaped from the Doctor's gleaming eyes.

Those blue-green eyes that seemed far crueler than he'd ever seen them, with every movement, every gesture, full of resignation, tinged with a dark, fatalistic melancholy. The Doctor kept calling himself a monster. An angel of death. They'd shagged, but it had been sad, and harsh, and brutal, and Fitz almost wished they hadn't.

Afterwards, Fitz had wept for days, alone in his flat. Utterly inconsolable.

"Are you all right?" Jack asked with concern, draping an arm across his shoulder.

Fitz took a deep, long breath, and forced himself to smile. "No. But who is, really?"

"I know that smile," Jack said, leaning close and cupping Fitz's face. "That's his smile. My smile. When it hurts too deep to do anything else but smile, and even that just makes it hurt even worse."

"You remind me of him, you know," Fitz said very quietly.

"So do you," Jack said, and kissed him.

It had been a really long time since Fitz had kissed a bloke. Long time since he'd kissed anyone, really. Jack tasted like no one else, indescribably of time and eternity and somehow more than human. It felt pretty good. Familiar and new at the same time.

He didn't want it to stop.

But then they heard the supposedly locked door creak open, and Jack got a dangerous, suspicious look in his bright blue eyes.

"You expecting anyone?" Jack asked.

Fitz shook his head warily as they both stood. Then out if nowhere Jack pulled out a revolver.

"What the he'll are you doing? Put that away!" Fitz hissed, stepping in front of him to reach the door.

A woman strolled inside, with curly hair and mischievous hazel eyes, glancing down at some sort of futuristic computer scanner thing. "Captain Jack," she said with a sudden grin. "I should have realized you were the time anomaly I've been following."

Jack pointed the gun straight at her. She didn't flinch, didn't even stop smiling. Fitz moved in front of her, so that Jack was aiming at his chest.

"Get out if the way, Fitz," Jack growled. "She's a Time Agent, and I'm not letting her take me."

Fitz didn't move, stood with arms outstretched, staring at Jack defiantly even as his heart hammered in his chest. "I don't care who the hell she is. You put that bloody gun away, Jack. Unless you're planning on shooting me first."

xxx

The Doctor was quite enjoying himself, wearing his cool goggles and tinkering with the ship. Not that there was anything specifically wrong with the old girl. The Doctor just liked to tinker.

His recent stretch of solitude had left him rather refreshed. As he'd learned more about this incarnation, he realized he felt much more comfortable with his own company than he had in lifetimes. Certainly before the War, before Eight altogether.

Freedom. Been a long time since that had felt like more than a curse.

Besides, if and when he did decide he needed a bit of company, he could always go spring River from prison.

Now that made him smile. River Song, his bad, bad girl. His mystery. A puzzle to be unraveled bit by bit. Someone to look forward to. In fact, he wouldn't particularly mind a bit of adventure courtesy of his favorite archaeologist at the moment. Heh, not that he'd ever mention River to Benny.

Benny was the jealous sort.

As though the TARDIS had read his mind, which to be frank she usually did, the phone rang. The Doctor sat up, hit his head, and tumbled out of the swing.

"It better not be Marilyn," he grumbled, reluctantly taking off his goggles

Now she had been an interesting mistake. Heaven knows what he had been thinking giving her his number after that incident in the limo after their fake wedding which absolutely didn't count. He tried not to remember, because this incarnation, which he did seem to be enjoying more than he had expected to at first, was somehow annoyingly awkward when it came to that sort of thing, as Marilyn had unfortunately experienced first hand. And somehow found charming.

The Doctor sighed as he climbed the steps. The first time he ... had relations ... in a new body always felt suspiciously like losing his virginity all over again. Which naturally brought up all sorts of memories. And thinking about the Master again was not a place he wanted to go at the moment, thank you very much.

So it had better not be Marilyn.

"Yes?" he asked suspiciously as he picked up the receiver.

"Hello, sweetie."

The Doctor broke into a huge grin. "Dr. River Song. I was just thinking about you."

"Were you?" she said in that charming, playful tone. "How delightful."

"Actually, no. Well, kind of, in a roundabout way that started with you and ended with.. um.. This phone call." The Doctor hit himself on the forehead.

"Did you just hit yourself on the forehead?" River asked.

"Are you two flirting?" he heard a familiar male voice ask from a distance.

"You're with Captain Jack?" the Doctor asked incredulously.

"And Fitz Kreiner."

"You're joking."

"Sweetie, you know I have a better sense of humor than that."

"Where are you?"

"Earth. London. Just follow the phone call, this is a landline."

The Doctor pulled up the scanner, made a couple of adjustments on the console. "Gotcha. I'll be right there."

By the time he finished the sentence, the TARDIS had begun to materialize on a small stage in a dimly lit bar. He dashed out the door, excited, and more than a little nervous.

"Hello you lot," he said cheerfully, and waved.

River smiled, and crossed her arms. "What took you so long?"

"Oh you know me, so easily distracted," he replied, attempting to sound casual. And purposely avoiding Jack's miserable stare and Fitz's awe-struck wonder.

He took a little jump off the stage, and sat backwards on one of the barstools, giving it a little spin before finally acknowledging the other two men in the room. "Fitz," he said very softly. "It's good to see you again."

Fitz stepped close, touched his face. "I thought you died," he said in a tremulous voice.

"I did," the Doctor said sadly, and covered Fitz's hand with his own for a moment, before releasing it and finally turning to Jack. Maddening, impossible Jack, who always sent his time senses throbbing.

He knew why Jack was so miserable, of course. So guarded. By now, the Doctor knew all about it. About his choices. His mistakes. Everything he'd lost. And he'd forgiven him, though he doubted Jack would ever forgive himself.

He knew what that felt like.

"Captain," the Doctor said with a sad smile.

Jack kept his distance, and gave him a little nod.

River walked up to the Doctor, standing so very close, like she tended to do.

"What do you have for me this time?" he asked in a slightly breathless voice, distracted by her presence.

"I was on my way to verify the accuracy of a little artifact that came across my path..."

"Oh, you bad girl. That's cheating!"

She gave him a wicked smile and stepped even closer. "I never said I was above a little cheating, my love."

The Doctor swallowed. "Yes, well... So um, how did a girl from my future run into these two blasts from my past?"

She held up her wrist. "A little malfunction with my vortex manipulator. I'll have to borrow your screwdriver later."

"Wait a second," Jack asked angrily. "So is she a time agent or isn't she?"

"She's an archeologist," the Doctor replied distantly, really only paying attention to the fact that River was now standing between his legs. Close enough to kiss.

He wondered if she still tasted like honey when she'd been this young.

"And you just let her run around with a working vortex manipulator?" Jack asked.

"Suppose so, yeah."

"Her, but not me."

"He trusts me," River said, and held his hands. Her smile became very intimate.

"Do I?" he asked, mostly to himself, raising his eyebrows.

"You will."

"Well I don't," Jack said gruffly.

"Hey, the Doctor know what he's doing," Fitz said, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Don't take it personally."

"So I shouldn't it personally," Jack spat. "Right. The Doctor keeps me trapped on one planet, relegated to the slow path despite the fact that I keep outliving everyone and everything I'll ever care about. But no, I shouldn't take it personally. We all know how the Doctor feels about blondes!"

The Doctor hopped off the barstool, stumbled a little, then walked right up to Jack. "You know I don't always agree with your choices, Jack. In fact, I usually disagree with them completely. Being your friend doesn't change that."

"Oh, is that what I am?" Jack said, shouting now. "Your friend. Where were you, Doctor? Where the hell were you when we needed you, when everything went wrong and every child on Earth was in danger, and I lost EVERYTHING that ever mattered to me?"

The Doctor didn't meet his angry stare, but his voice was low and firm. "I can't save humanity from all of its mistakes, Jack. Sometimes I look at all of you, and I'm so very ashamed."

xxx

Still working on this one, but it's turning out to be great, full of creepy jungles, mistrust, angst, affection, and silly jokes! Please let me know what you think so far.


	2. Chapter 2: Gods of the Blue Box

Chapter 2: Gods of the Blue Box

Warnings for some sexiness from here on out, and because Fitz likes to curse!

xxx

Jack seemed to dwindle at the Doctor's words. All the anger drained from his face, replaced with a sorrowful sort of resignation.

"I'm sorry, sir," Jack said softly. "You're right. Of course. You're always right."

"No I'm not," the Doctor said, placing a hand on Jack's arm. "Only most of the time."

River sighed and couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Shut up, you love it," the Doctor said quickly, before continuing. "But Jack, I know it's been a terrible time for you. So… Why don't you come with us? Join me on an adventure. I can drop you off anywhere you like afterwards."

Jack attempted a weary smile. "I'd like that."

The Doctor gave him a little nod, then twirled over to Fitz and casually draped an arm across his shoulders. "You too, Fitz! I've missed you. I owe you. Still one of my favorite people in the whole entire universe, you are."

"Aw, thanks, Doctor," Fitz replied in the charming little boy way he usually reacted compliments.

The Doctor squeezed Fitz tightly for a moment, gave him an affectionate pat on the cheek, then spun around to face River, who was smiling with amusement.

"So where to next, River Song?"

"Easter Island."

"Oh, I've always wanted to go there!" the Doctor exclaimed, already dashing back to the TARDIS. "Well, hurry up you lot, stop dawdling. I know I've got a time machine, but that's really no excuse for being late."

"I hate him," River said with a chuckle.

"You don't," he shot back with a grin, and snapped his fingers. The doors to the TARDIS swung open.

xxx

The first time in a new console room always felt almost sacred to Fitz. He and the TARDIS, they had something special. A connection even she and the Doctor didn't share. Cos after all that mess with the Faction, the TARDIS had remade Fitz, brought him back, put a little of her soul into him.

With a big dopey grin, Fitz practically skipped up the stairs, spinning around the console room, laughing. "Oh, this is brilliant!" he shouted.

"I know, isn't she gorgeous this time around?" the Doctor asked as he joined him, taking him by the hand. "Absolutely sexy."

"They're like big kids together," Jack observed.

"Aren't they just?" River replied, sounding amused.

Fitz didn't give a damn what they thought. The Doctor was alive, that was all that mattered. Alive, and happier than Fitz had seen him in years and years. Happy, smiling, showing him around the console room, right up to the neat little landing, then back down again. Fitz was already out of breath by the time they made their way under the glass floor. But Fitz didn't care in the slightest.

"Now look at that," the Doctor said, gesturing to the pool of fluid at the center. "Bet even you haven't been this close to the heart of the TARDIS.

Fitz reached a hand toward the metal pillar rising from the dark pool, feeling the familiar gentle hum. "Hello, love," Fitz said softly. "I've missed you."

"So have we," the Doctor said with a strange little smile.

Fitz just turned and hugged him tightly. This Doctor was taller, gangly, all elbows and awkward edges instead of smooth, soft sensuality, like his Doctor had been. He smelled of books, libraries, with just a hint of apples. But it was still the Doctor. Not his Doctor, maybe, but the Doctor nonetheless. And that was just fine. Fitz pulled away, and rubbed his eyes. Not that he'd been crying. Definitely not.

The Doctor patted Fitz's cheek fondly. "You've always been a good friend, Fitz. Maybe the best I ever had. One of them, at least."

Fitz blushed and laughed sheepishly. "Thanks, Doctor."

"Now, come on!" the Doctor said suddenly, taking Fitz's hand again.

They heard the TARDIS dematerialize.

"River!" the Doctor bellowed as he took the steps two at a time, dragging Fitz behind him. "Who said you could do that?"

River shrugged nonchalantly and pursed her lips. "I was tired of waiting."

The Doctor glared at her, then turned on the scanner. "Oh look at that. Dancing!"

Fitz stood beside the Doctor and looked at the scanner. "Christ, I've bloody missed this."

The Doctor matched Fitz's expression as a wild, manic grin crossed his face.

xxx

Jack sat against a tree, half hidden by the shadows. Simply watching. They had started up the dances again, begun the feast. But Jack wasn't hungry.

The Doctor and River, as the visiting gods of the blue box, had been given a place of honor near the king, and they seemed perfectly at ease, chatting amiably, quite openly flirting with each other. Sampling the many platters of food passed around to them.

But they weren't who Jack focused on.

Dressed in his black jeans, a red t-shirt, and boots, Fitz looked completely out of place. Yet that didn't seem to faze him in the slightest. Instead, he doted on the Doctor, bringing him special delicacies to sample and carved wooden mugs of tropical juices. Laughing at the Doctor's stupid jokes. Practically coquettish. Like a cross between a superhero sidekick and a stereotypical '50s sitcom wife. They were incredibly comfortable with each other, in a way the Doctor hadn't been with Jack in a long time, if ever.

The Doctor seemed to relish the attention, touching Fitz so very casually, with an easy arm around his shoulder, a friendly pat on the cheek, always with a compliment, a thank you. The Doctor was never this polite. He never let anyone "dote" on him so obviously.

Not when Jack had known him, at least. He'd always treated the Doctor like a superior officer, a wise leader he'd been grateful to serve under. But he supposed that was another difference between him and Fitz. If even half the stories Fitz had told Jack were true, then no matter what he and the Doctor had been through together, how many battles they'd faced, Time War or otherwise, somehow he'd never truly become a soldier. The relationship between those two was something else entirely. And so Fitz doted, because only he could get away with it.

Jack released a long, weary sigh. Ianto had always doted on him. How he'd teased Ianto about that, about the way he always seemed to have whatever Jack had in mind ready and waiting for him, be it a cup of coffee, a sexy distraction, or a complex computer program up and running before Jack realized he would need it. Usually with a dry remark that left Jack smiling. That was who Fitz reminded him of. Ianto. Loyal and caring, above all. Full of forgiveness and acceptance. He still missed Ianto far more than he wanted to admit to himself. And it had been Jack's fault Ianto died.

For a little while there, he'd had it all, hadn't he? Martha and the Doctor flitting in and out of his life. A nice little team. A lover he could trust with almost anything. Saving the world, and being taken care of, a valued member of the Doctor's special extended family. And a family of his own, despite his own thoughtless mistakes. In the span of a week, Jack had lost everything that mattered to him. Even the love of his last living daughter.

And Steven. No, he couldn't think about Steven. Not now.

With a long, shuddering sigh, Jack tore his gaze away, staring off into the dark jungle. He thought he saw a figure, out of the corner of his eye. Just for a moment. Tall, misshapen, with a dark suit.

But he was wrong. No one. Just a trick of the flickering firelight. A moment later, he didn't even remember.

xxx

The Doctor took a big gulp of the slightly fermented juice, made a face, then wiped his mouth.

The Ariki Mau, leader of the island, kept giving him a suspicious stare. The Doctor smiled widely, and even shot him a little wink. Leaning forward, the Doctor spoke loudly over the music. "So when can I see her?"

"See her?" the Ariki replied rather incredulously.

"The goddess you were calling when we first showed up."

River joined him in leaning forward, and pulled a chipped stone tablet out of her suspiciously small leather satchel. "It's been prophesied that the goddess will return in four days time," she said with cool confidence. "In the Temple of the Mother."

He could have kissed her.

The Ariki's eyes grew wide and startled, and he tried to take the tablet from him. "Spoilers!" she said with a little smirk, and slipped it back into her satchel. "We've personal business with the goddess. You'll just have to trust us."

"So we'll be staying until then, at least," the Doctor added, and draped his arms around both of them. "Plenty of time to get to know each other!"

The Doctor laughed a little too wildly, suddenly excited by the prospect. A little island vacation with River and Fitz sounded perfect about now, and would surely help cheer Jack up. And a mysterious goddess appearing on the ancient Island of Rapa Nui? Yes, that would definitely liven things up.

He released the Ariki, who threw him a filthy look. He'd be trouble, that one. River chuckled and snuggled a little closer to him. His hearts began to race a bit, but he squeezed her closer anyway. Nothing wrong with a little excitement.

"You two gotta try this," Fitz said from beside River. "Bloody delicious!"

He handed over a bowl, wearing a wide grin like a kid sharing a particularly delicious candy bar with his friends. River took a piece and slid it into the Doctor's mouth. Absolutely wonderful. Delicate fish cooked in a thick, sweet, creamy coconut broth. Like one of his favorite foods, done all tropical. River kept her finger on his mouth while he chewed, and, blimey, did that turn him on for some reason.

On impulse, he gave her finger a little lick, and she winked at him.

"Rhanks," the Doctor said to both of them, his mouth still full. River and Fitz smiled back at him, looking gorgeous and happy in the firelight.

This was gonna be a lovely week.


	3. Chapter 3: Pretty Little Secrets

Chapter 3: Pretty Little Secrets

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><p>Fitz smoked a cigarette before stepping back inside, trying to stifle his coughing afterward as he held his chest until the burning pain stopped. He really should quit, but he supposed it was already too late for that anyway.<p>

He and Jack had been given a room to share, in a cozy round stone house at the edge of the village. He thought for sure that the Doctor and River were right next door. Together. Fitz placed a hand on the wall for a few moments, as though trying to sense their presence, then took off his shoes and socks. Jack was already sitting on his own grass-filled mat beside him, ready for bed. Watching with hungry eyes as Fitz took off his shirt.

Part of him suddenly felt like he was about to star in some sort of gay porn, but Jack just said goodnight, sounding pretty damn depressed about it, then turned around, facing the wall.

He looked so fucking tragic that Fitz couldn't resist.

Moving over to sit on the mat beside him, Fitz ran a hand over Jack's bare shoulder. Jack gave a little moan, leaning into his touch for moment. Fitz kissed his neck, lightly, embracing him. Trailing nibbles up to his ear, he let his guitar-calloused fingers make their way across Jack's smooth chest.

"Fitz..." Jack said softly, regretfully.

He took Jack's chin, turned him to capture his mouth in a kiss. Jack tasted like no one else, and considering the number of humans, and aliens, he'd shagged from across all of space and time that was saying a hell of a lot.

"Don't," Jack whispered, as Fitz let his touch wander lower.

Fitz pressed himself close, desperate for Jack's warmth, for the feel of his body.

"You don't want to have anything to do with me, Fitz," Jack said, grabbing Fitz's wrist in a hard grip. "Trust me. Bad things happen to people who know me."

Fitz broke into a wry grin. "Heh. That's never stopped me before."

Jack pushed him away a little roughly. "I said goodnight and I meant it."

With a shrug, Fitz bounced back to lie on his own mat, still smiling. "Your loss, mate. You know where to find me if you get lonely."

Jack just watched him, kept watching him. Actually it was starting to creep Fitz out a bit. Probably would have creeped him out a lot worse before he spent 15 years of his life in love with a brooding, charming, melancholic alien. Who happened to be a bloke.

"You remind me too much of someone I loved," Jack said finally, in a quiet, sorrowful voice.

Fitz sat up cross-legged and kept smiling. "You too, mate. Except you don't stop loving them, do you, just cause they're gone. Not really."

Jack sighed. "No, I guess not."

And with that Jack turned around to face the wall. Whether Jack slept or not, Fitz didn't know. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>They sat at the edge of the beach, watching the stars. Holding hands just a little too casually for the Doctor to feel at all relaxed. Instead, as River leaned against him, he felt a jittery sort of excitement. It was hard to sit still, feeling her breathing as she cuddled against his chest. It felt a little too natural for comfort.<p>

Which frankly didn't make any sense at all.

"Remember the pink oceans of Alumbria?" River asked wistfully, snaking an arm across his back to completely encircle him in her warm embrace.

"Yeah, and all the fish glow blue," he said with a smile, resting his chin against the top of her head, enjoying the honey smell of her gorgeous curls.

"We should go back there one day," she said with a little yawn.

He rubbed River's shoulder. "You sound rather a bit tired, Dr. River Song."

"So it's true. I am going to be a doctor after all!" she said with a chuckle. "How exciting."

It was just a little spoiler, he told himself, and tilted her head upwards to stare into her hazel eyes. Blimey, she was young. They almost always traveled in opposite directions to each other, but every once in a while, he would run into her out of order. Usually later in her life, for the most part.

But not this time. This River still had so much ahead of her. So early. Maybe still in her 20s. He stroked her cheek. Really soft. Yet she was always soft, wasn't she? He still remembered the first time River had stroked his face, all the way back in The Library, when he'd been younger and foolish and always emotional, and she as old as she would ever get. Still just as beautiful. He'd felt that strange, exciting, uncomfortable thrill at her touch, a sensation that still hadn't quite gone away.

He wanted to kiss her, he'd already kissed her, would kiss her, one day, would feel himself entangled in her arms. But had that happened already, for this River? He'd hate to spoil things for her.

And then she kissed him, so suddenly, so surprisingly, that he almost burst out laughing. Instead, he kissed her right back, for long, dazzling minutes. Time simply crawling by as he tasted her.

Then her hand slid up his thigh, and he was not prepared to feel her fingers grip him through his tight black pants. He leapt to his feet.

"Right!" he began, pacing, ignoring the hurt look that crossed her face as best he could. "So Easter Island has a new god. Or more precisely, a new goddess."

River stood and pulled her hair back in a quick ponytail, suddenly brisk. All business. Good girl. She was always so great at keeping up with him.

"That's what I came to investigate," she said, brushing the sand from her black jumpsuit.

"And how did you find out about that exactly, River Song?"

He eyed the dark leather satchel hanging from what he'd come to fondly think of as her utility belt. Like the comic book superheroes wore, slung so casually over her lovely hips. He wondered if her diary was hidden away in there, full of the secrets of his future.

She smiled at him. "Spoilers," River said in that teasing, playful voice.

The Doctor stepped very close to her, and spoke in a low voice. "But you know exactly who we're facing, don't you?"

River said nothing.

"Come on," he said in a whisper, mouth so close to her ear his lips brushed across her skin. "You can tell me. You always tell me, don't you? In the end?"

She pulled away and shook her head. "Not always. And not this time."

The Doctor strolled off to look across the ocean before replying, sounding cross. "What's so different about this time?"

River said nothing, but stood beside him and took his hand.

He looked at her and sighed. "You just expect me to trust you, then? As usual. Stumbling along into mystery and danger while you keep all those pretty little secrets to yourself."

"Sounds about right."

"You know, River, I'm starting to think this isn't exactly the healthiest relationship I've ever been in."

"Oh, but where would be the fun in that?"

* * *

><p>Breakfast consisted of fresh fruit and juice, served by pretty native girls wearing grass skirts and shell necklaces and nothing else. Fitz could definitely get used to a life like this. With the right company, of course. With the Doctor, suddenly feeling as if all those years apart never happened, for either one of them.<p>

And they had certainly spent an awful lot of time apart. Still, Fitz didn't regret skipping ahead after the first destruction of Gallifrey. He couldn't go through with that again, after Mum. Spent most of his life before the Doctor watching her fall apart. Staying behind with him would have meant spending the rest of his life taking care of an amnesiac madman, tortured, angry, and absolutely unhinged. As the Doctor had been for decades.

He'd told Fitz stories, long afterward. Of Victorian asylums, madhouses, hospitals. Of ranting in alleys in the rain, screaming out to the stars, of days spent alone in boarding houses, simply staring at the walls, too numb to do anything else. Trickles of the past had seeped through, describing their century apart. Whispered stories told while safe and warm in bed, pained confessions hissed out in regret while imprisoned and awaiting certain death, even bitter memories shared as they prepared for battle, late in the last great Time War. After everything, the Doctor could still surprise him. More to know than could ever be shared. Fitz's eternal mystery.

And he was back now as another man, brilliant and friendly and in love with someone else. Found and lost at the same time.

Fitz watched them, couldn't help it. The young old Doctor, full of mad, jittery energy, and his flirty, mischievous bird, all curves and bouncy curls and pretty eyes that knew too much.

Yeah, he'd seen that before. Lived through that before, seeing the Doctor love someone else. Bloody hell, he'd watching the Doctor marry someone else, for Christ's sake. Seeing him flirt was nothing.

"So it seems to me that what we really need to do is find this Temple of the Mother," the Doctor said casually, ignoring the Ariki's glare.

"Sure thing, Doc," Fitz said, draining the last of his cup and wiping his mouth. "Where should be start?"

The Doctor smiled at him, a little gratefully, Fitz thought, and stood up. "Right then. Busy day and all that. Thank you again for the hospitality, my dear Ariki."

And with that he and River strode into the forest, ignoring the Ariki's protests. Jack and Fitz trailed behind. Fitz thought Jack looked especially haunted this morning. He wished there was something he could do, but Jack just kept pushing him away every time he tried to get him to open up.

They found River and the Doctor in the middle of an argument.

"Just let me see the tablets and I'm sure I can figure out the location," the Doctor said, sounding cross. "You've no reason to keep it from me. I'm only here because of you, so why won't you tell me what's going on?"

"As I was telling you last night before you childishly ran away until morning, there is nothing about the location of the temple on any of the tablets we excavated," River replied, continuing to walk and leaving the Doctor behind.

He ran to catch up with her, and circled around her as he argued. "So I'm just supposed to trust you blindly, and even though you know exactly what's going on, you're not going to tell me. Oh yes, isn't that just lovely?"

"I'm afraid there's a few spoilers that you'll simply have to find out as we go along."

"Gah!" the Doctor wailed, pulling at his hair. "If I never hear that word again it'll be too soon. River Song, you are absolutely maddening! I think I hate you."

"You don't," she said with a little grin.

Jack had fallen back to watch them, and Fitz lingered beside him.

"Do you think he actually trusts her?" Jack asked Fitz in a low whisper. "Because I don't think he does. And that means I don't trust her either."

"Hey, he's the Doctor. He knows what he's doing. Most of the time."

Jack simply stared at him for a few moments, before hurrying off after the Doctor, leaving Fitz to follow.

* * *

><p>For those of you who haven't read the EDAs, yes, there was a time war before the Last Great Time War, which led to Gallifrey being pulled out of history and messing up the timelines in all sorts of crazy ways. Fitz and Eight played a huge role in it. At some point after the EDAs, Eight brought it back again through some crazy timey wimey nonsense that's never been properly explained. RTD himself described it as the difference between World War I and World War II, and I quite rightly defer to him on this. In my own personal canon universe, Fitz was with the Doctor through both, so don't worry about spoilers because half of the things he saysremembers are just my own wild speculation and fantasies!

But please, please, please tell me what you think! The more comments, the faster I update, heh...


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